


Child of the Mountain

by Ringletts



Category: Saiyuki
Genre: Alternate Universe, Community: 7thnight_smut, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-29
Updated: 2015-09-29
Packaged: 2018-04-23 22:43:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4895116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ringletts/pseuds/Ringletts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After some relationship problems and an insult to his craft, Sanzo decides to leave the country in search of the perfect photo. While he is exploring the mountains, a weary Sanzo stumbles across the dreaded ‘man eater’, a golden eyed beast feared by the town’s people.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Child of the Mountain

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kirathaune](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kirathaune/gifts).



Of all the places in the world to visit Sanzo had no idea why he so adamantly chose to go to a remote mountain range in the middle of nowhere. It was a place with amazing scenery if you could get past the harsh environment. In fact, the city he was going to land in was not the friendliest one, being a gold mining town where most of the residents barely spoke a few words of English. The photographer had barely spent any time to brush up on his Spanish and knew he was probably going to pay for it.

He stared at his navy blue backpack and hoped he at least packed enough to get him through the endeavor. The man had packed the bag as much as he could with what he thought was necessary, doing a bit of research on the internet and buying a few things that would help him get through the cold nights. There had to be shops in town right? Or maybe an inn of some kind.

‘I should have checked online to see if they have a hotel or something out here.’ He thought to himself.

This is what Sanzo got for rushing into a trip without doing proper research. But he was a stubborn man and when he had his mind set on something he did it. When he saw something he wanted he’d do whatever he could to have it. It’s just the kind of person he was.

As they were flying closer to the mountain range, Sanzo remembered that he wasn’t going to have access to his usual luxuries such as internet on his phone or even warm water. He was going to miss warm baths. He’d be in this mountain range for nine days. Nine long, cold, internet-less days.

All his food were canned items, meals that looked appetizing on the cover of the can but the contents said otherwise. But it would have to do. Sanzo wasn’t there to learn how to hunt. He was a photographer, not some kind of warrior on a journey. The man just wanted to find the perfect photo, a beautiful image in this harsh terrain.

‘Why did I do this?’ The man thought again bitterly, crossing his arms for the hundredth time as he tapped his foot impatiently. Maybe when they landed he would feel at ease. Being cooped up in this tiny plane and squished against his huge backpack for nearly 5 hours was not fun. And he was jet lagged. Sanzo had spent the last 20 hours hopping from one plane to another and he was exhausted.

“I seriously have no idea why I’m doing this.” He muttered, knowing the pilot would probably ignore the complaint coming from the blond. The man was fairly chatty but tended not to comment when Sanzo muttered to himself. Probably for the best since Sanzo didn’t want to talk about it.

Besides, Sanzo knew exactly why he was doing this, going through all this trouble for a photo he wasn’t sure he wanted. It was a matter of pride. He told his closest friends why he was suddenly going on a trip. He wanted to capture a beautiful moment in a harsh environment. So what better place and challenge than a remote mountain region? His friends were skeptical but didn’t stop him. His childhood friend and fellow photographer, Hakkai, had tried to encourage him to wait a few weeks before going, but Sanzo was adamant and explained that he was inspired now and couldn’t wait.

No, the true reason was that his intentions were because of spite.

Sanzo had been a nature photographer when he was younger and slowly rising in fame. But for the past year his lens focused on something else; the human body. In particular, the body of a young man with long, wild red head and eyes a deep, mysterious violet color. Sanzo had been drawn to this man one night at a club and asked if he could take his picture. After that the blond focused his camera on him whenever he got. His portfolio soon shifted from nature photography to scenery of a different kind. The naked body. Sanzo had become obsessed with getting the man, known as Kougaiji, to pose for him and they had been intimate on many occasions after the photo shoots.

Sanzo had thought they were in a relationship, Kougaiji showing up to his to his house even at 2am when the blond felt his desires calling. Photos were abundant, as was the sex. Rough nights of passion with a man that Sanzo shouldn’t have been so involved in. And yet-

Sanzo’s thoughts were interrupted as the plane jostled, his huge backpack had fallen onto his feet, crushing his toes due to the weight. The blond hissed in pain and then pushed the heavy gear off his feet.

“Can’t you warn me when you’re going to have turbulence like that?”

The pilot, a man with ebony hair and strange, two colored eyes, looked over his shoulder with a bit of a smirk. “Flying might get a bit rough across the mountains.” He replied in a thick Spanish accent before turning back to the controls and resuming the flight.

Sanzo bristled in his annoyance but said nothing knowing the man was just being a smart ass. They would be landing soon and he could get out of this god forsaken, cramped as hell plane. That’s when another thought occurred to him, and he speaks up again.

“So, the other pilot knows to pick me up in nine days, right? I’m not going to get stranded here?”

“Oh, do not worry, my friend. I will ensure you get a ride back to the main airport.”

Sanzo’s suspicions were confirmed, he’d have to endure another ride with this smug pilot for another 5 hours.

\---

The landing in town had gone smoothly. The pilot clearly knew what he was doing, which was a relief because Sanzo was still trying to figure out what he was going to do. It was sunset at this point and things were quickly becoming dark.

Turning towards the pilot who was already preparing the plane for takeoff, Sanzo frowned slightly.

“Heading off already? You fly at night?”

The pilot chuckled as he checked the gauges on his aircraft. He had enough fuel to get to his destination. “It is unwise for me to leave my plane unattended here at night.”

Sanzo raised an eyebrow at the taller man. “Why is that? People are used to you coming and going right?”

The man placed his hand along the metal of the plane, patting the fiery painted aircraft fondly. “Sadly I have found my beloved plane with missing pieces of metal in the past. The people here will take any kind of scrap metal and attempt to pawn it off for money. I would rather not wake up to see my plane stripped down to the frame.”

“I suppose that is logical.” Sanzo muttered, now gripping the handle of his bag a little tighter. “Before you fly off again, do you know of any hotels or inns around here?” The pilot just laughed at the man’s question, causing the blond to twitch in annoyance.

“My apologies. You tourists always amuse me.” He ignored the glare coming off the man. “People come here all the time thinking they will strike it rich in the gold mines and end up leaving even more broke than before. This is not a welcoming town for people. There are no inns, in fact it will be a miracle for you to find a place to stay tonight.”

“That’s encouraging…”

The pilot looks over at the man before rolling his eyes. What a pitiful fellow. Shaking his head he goes into his cockpit for a moment, rummaging around and finding a piece of paper before writing a few numbers on it. Leaving the pit, he heads back to Sanzo and gives him the torn piece.

“Storage unit 213, the lock combination is 2485. There is some old furniture in there but it is close to a farmer’s field full of sheep. It is not going to smell good. I use it sometimes when I need to haul in supplies for town. It is empty now but it’ll work for a makeshift place.” He turns back to the plane, getting settled back in. “If someone tries to arrest you, just tell them that Homura said it was fine.”

Sanzo stared at the paper, wondering what it was at first until the pilot explained its purpose. Sanzo had thought the guy was kind of an ass, but this was pretty nice of him. “Thanks.” He muttered, shoving the paper in his pocket. “So, you’ll definitely be back in nine days right?”

“Right, I will be here around the afternoon.” Homura smirked again. “Hopefully you will find what you are looking for, Mr. Photographer. Oh, and be on the lookout for the Man Eater. Or Sheep Thief. Whatever they are calling him now a days.” Before Sanzo can ask what he meant by that, Homura closed the door of the cockpit and the engine began to rev up again. Wind picked up around the blond and he grabbed his bag quickly, running away from the plane’s take off.  
Sanzo cursed under his breath as the aircraft began to drive off the small runway. “He really is an ass.”

\---

Sleep did not come easily for the photographer that night. He had found the storage unit without any problems but it was just as the pilot warned. It reeked. Sanzo never remembered smelling sheep before, at least not this way. He was sure he would never forget the stench again.

It wasn’t just the odor though, the animals were noisy until about midnight when they finally seemed to go to sleep. All was quiet until dawn.

Sanzo was awoken by the sound of sheep suddenly bleating like crazy, and he could hear a ton of hooves pounding the ground. Curious, Sanzo got up to see what the fuss was about and walked to the exit of the storage unit. He was greeted with dull sunlight coming over the horizon as he sun was slowly coming up. He peeked around the corner and saw the sheep scurrying around, but what caught his eye was some kind of wooly creature that was running off towards the mountain, a small sheep in its grasp.

The man’s eyes widen and he can feel his heart beat faster. ‘What the hell is that?’ It looked like a human, but it was covered in dirty white fur. That’s when Sanzo realized that his phone was in his pocket. He fumbled for it and took it out to take a photo. The blond manages to get the ‘creature’ in his sights when he pauses.

The beast was staring at him. They both stayed still for a moment, eyes locked on each other. Sanzo was across the field but he could make out the features of the being, it looked small but its body was bulky. But it also appeared human. Sanzo didn’t believe in strange creatures, and yet here was one now.

Suddenly there’s a gunshot that flies over the creature, causing it to scurry into the mountains. Cursing, Sanzo begins to quickly snap pictures. The beast seems to look back at him one more time and that’s when he is able to zoom in and snap a photo when the farmer suddenly begins yelling at the blond in Spanish.

“What the hell is your problem? I didn’t steal your sheep.”

“Sheep! Stole sheep! Thief! Monster!” The heavy set man pointed where the beast was last seen, before throwing his arms up in the air in frustration. He had thought putting up barbed wire near the livestock’s fenced in area would deter the monster, but it had found a way to cut through the wire.

Sanzo raised his eyebrow, looking at where the barbed wire had been cut, then looking back at the farmer who seemed to be taking stock of the rest of his sheep. “I’m pretty sure it’s just some weird looking human. Monsters aren’t real.”

“No. It monster. Man eater. Sheep thief! Monster!”

After that the man seemed to rant in his native tongue about going on a hunt for the beast. This made Sanzo quickly leave as he wanted no part of any kind of manhunt or drama. He had his own problems to deal with and chasing after some wooly man was not one of them. Yesterday was a waste and he couldn’t get a lay of the land or hunt for a location for his photography, but today was different. Sanzo could feel it.

\---

Sanzo did feel it.

Aches and soreness that it.

Perhaps it would have been a better idea to plan what he should have brought instead of shoving as much as he could into a huge outdoor backpack. He had done some research so he knew some if it was important, but maybe he didn’t need to bring two extra pairs of shoes. Or his heavy duty tripod for his camera. He had a lighter one that probably would have worked just as well, but he hadn’t been thinking too clearly when he began to pack.

He cursed as he felt the metal rod of the folded tripod poking him in the back and he was half tempted to stop and reorganize his bag for the 4th time, but Sanzo knew if he did that he would want to sit down and take a long break. And he’d want to sit down for a while. The photographer also realized, as he ascended higher and higher, that the air was not easy to breathe in thanks to the altitude.

‘No.’ He thought to himself, grunting as he hefted the backpack up, then gasping for a moment as he tried to get a breath of air. ‘I will get this picture.’

Sanzo also had not realized that he was subconsciously following the path the ‘monster’ had taken in the morning. There were several foot worn paths that the blond could have taken and yet he decided to go up the one that the so-called terrible beast had while taking a sheep with him.

‘How could that thing, guy, whatever it was, go up a steep path like this carrying a squirming sheep. Must have some stupidly inhuman strength.’ There was no way it was a monster. Monsters were NOT real. And Sanzo refused to believe that. Maybe it was some kid pranking the owner of the sheep. Whatever it was, it better not try to bother him. His goal was important and anyone that got in his way would get a good punch in the face.

As he walked the photographer sensed the air around him getting thinner. Sanzo could feel himself getting more tired, and colder. It was definitely getting colder. He was bundled up in a heavy duty parka but even then he felt like he was going to freeze. The man knew that mountains would be chilly, but he didn’t think it would feel like he was climbing to Antarctica.

‘I didn’t plan for it to get this cold.’ Sanzo’s eye twitched, once again wishing he had done a little more research. When he had looked at pictures of the mountain range it looked desolate and dry. But it was the middle of autumn so it made sense that it would start to be colder in that region. ‘They are going to find my frozen corpse if I keep this up...’

Deciding that going higher would be a bad idea, as he was now beginning to see patches of snow, Sanzo stops along the path that had been walked by hikers for hundreds of years and leans heavily against the side of a huge boulder, desperately trying to take in oxygen. His legs were beginning to feel like mush and his head was swimming. He didn’t want to give up and stop here, the stubborn part of him thinking he was being weak when he should logically understand that it took time for the body to get used to mountain climbing.

Cursing softly, Sanzo begrudgingly relents and decides that this is as far up the foot paved trail that he would go. That didn’t mean he was going to go all the way back down though. He was going to find an inspiring photo in this damn mountain one way or another. So far nothing had caught his eye. There was some trees and bushes and the occasional mountain goat staring at him as if he was crazy.

Maybe night fall would bring him new perspective.

Sanzo was more of a man who enjoyed the evening. The moonlight would illuminate the world the way sunlight could not. It was as if the moon itself was choosing to brighten what it felt was significant, and Sanzo would take the shot. Before he focused his lens on Kougaiji, most of his shoots were of the night.

This is why the full moon would be so important to him, it was his favorite form of lighting.

Sanzo knew he shouldn’t walk off the trail, having read warnings that there could be rock slides and unseen ravines that he could fall into, but the lack of air seemed to just push his delusional need to take his photo even further.

“I’ll show him. Thinks he can just use me like that. Belittle my art. That stupid son of a-” Sanzo pauses in step when he sees something interesting. Looking downward he could see what appeared to be a goat that was… floating? Frowning, Sanzo quickly puts his bag down and fumbles for his camera. He couldn’t trust his eyes so he would rely on the magnifying powers of his device.

Turning on the camera he points the lens towards the lake. “What the hell is making that goat float like that?” The photographer quickly snaps a few pictures, his hands shaking more and more with each press of the button. After taking a couple shots Sanzo finally realizes what he is seeing. The animal wasn’t levitating or anything like that. It stood on what appeared to be a lake, completely frozen and almost totally clear.

Sanzo had heard of this phenomenon but had never seen it besides in photos on the internet. The water was so pure that it made it completely clean and looking as though one was walking across a cliff.

‘What would the lake look like at night?’ The blonde wondered, now putting away his camera but having some trouble closing the zipper on his bag. ‘How would it look under the moon? Would light bounce off it?’ At that point Sanzo felt inspiration surge. He wanted to see how this lake would look at night, but it didn’t look as though there was an easy way to get to it. It looked almost as if it was in a huge crater, surrounded by cliffs that would make it difficult to get in. He was lucky enough to have spotted it the way he had. If it wasn’t for that goat he would have missed it.

“If a damn goat can get in there…” The man mutters, hiking his backpack onto his shoulders. Instead of easily carrying the weight, the young man found himself falling backwards and landing on his bag as a string of colorful words leave his mouth. “Stupid backpack.” Almost like a turtle stuck on its back, Sanzo laid there for a moment and realized he was still having trouble breathing, his heart was beating fast.

And that’s when he heard the sound of small pebbles rolling down the rock face he had been close by. Staring up, he realizes something is blocking out the sun, a huge furry looking shadow looming over him from a ridge above. Whatever it was, it was staring back.

‘Shit.’

Now feeling he was in danger Sanzo wormed his way free of the backpack, pulling his arms out of the loops, he stumbles to his feet and tries to step away from the creature. His legs felt like jello and the young man found it hard to keep balance.

Sanzo swore it was some huge monster on the ledge above him, maybe a yeti? It could have been a yeti. He wasn’t really able to think straight at that moment as his head spun. His breath came out ragged as the creature peered down at him with piercing golden eyes. The photographer never believed in monsters. He scoffed at blurry photos of big foot. He rolled his eyes at shaky shots of Sasquatch. He dismissed out of focus pictures of old Nessie. And yet here was a beast in front of him.

‘I’m going to die. I’m going to die to some bull shit urban legend.’

This was Sanzo’s last thought before he found himself falling to his knees and blacking out before he hit the ground.

\---

_“I have an exhibit in Chicago coming up in a few months. March I think. I want you to go with me.” Sanzo murmured around a lit cigarette. He sat on a bed with satin sheets and looked on at his half naked companion. “They should at least see the subject of my work in person.”_

_Kougaiji was currently occupying himself, putting on his clothing as he knew he needed to head back home. He had a business meeting in the early morning and knew it would benefit to get in a few hours of sleep in his own bed. “Can’t do it. Busy.”_

_Sanzo raised an eyebrow. “That’s months from now. You are already busy?” He scoffed and rolled his eyes, flicking cigarette ash into the glass tray. “Whatever. You do this every time I have an exhibit.”_

_“Look,” Kougaiji began buttoning up his shirt and turned to face the man. “I’m going to be blunt with you. What we had, it was just for pleasure. You and I both know that. You take my photo, we have a romp in the sheets, and then we go our separate ways until the next session.”_

_The blond took a drag from his cigarette, inhaling the nicotine, before exhaling slowly. “Yeah, I know.” It was true, there wasn’t much of a connection besides the fact they had been attracted to each other’s looks. They rarely met up except for Sanzo’s photo shoots. “Wait…had?” He turned and looked up at Kougaiji with a questioning look._

_“I never wanted to be a model. I’m a businessman. My face is plastered over the internet. In some ways it gained me some attention which was great for attracting clients, but I’m done. I can’t do these wild nights anymore. I have other priorities to focus on right now.”_

_Remaining silent, Sanzo listened fully to what the red head was saying. In a way, it was like he was getting dumped. That wasn’t a big deal. He was disappointed that he would be losing out on a great model but he would find other inspiration._

_“Besides,” Kougaiji continued on. “Your photography has been pretty dull lately.”_

_“Excuse me?” The blond twitched and pressed his cigarette down hard on the ashtray, rubbing out the ashes before turning to glare at the other man. How dare he insult his work? Sanzo could deal with getting dumped, but to trash his work like that? He didn’t only photograph Kougaiji, that was just his side job to photograph models. He also took photos of landscapes, urban areas, whatever inspired him. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”_

_“Come on, Sanzo.” Kougaiji rolled his eyes, grabbing his shoes now. “How many pictures do you have of me? How many photos of gritty alleyways do you take? And forests? I remember when we first met I liked your work. You had this one great photo of a lake and the moon. I don’t know why but that drew me in. Now it’s just… repetitive. In fact, I wonder if you lost your ability to find a good nature shot. I think you’ve lost your touch.”_

_“Oh, is that what you think?” Sanzo replied in an annoyed tone. “When you’re done dressing the exit’s that way.” He cocked his head towards the door, making it clear that he wanted the red head out of his sight. “And don’t worry about the exhibit, I’ll make sure to replace any photography I had of you.”_

_‘How subtle.’ Kougaiji knew he was going to piss of Sanzo with his words. The man had a lot of pride and didn’t like being told that his works were ‘dull’ or ‘boring’. He basically stuck a knife in the photographer’s side and twisted it. He wasn’t surprised at the fact that he was now basically being kicked out. “I’m off then.” He purposely made sure not to reply to Sanzo’s comment about removing his photos from the gallery. It made no difference to him, people had already seen enough of his modeling shots anyway._

_Hours after Kougaiji left Sanzo mulled over his words and started on another cigarette. His photography still attracted attention, people were fascinated by his imagery. Sure maybe he hadn’t taken a picture of nature in a while but that didn’t mean anything. In fact, he would go out and take photography in the wild again, like when he was younger. Sanzo would show that stuck up bastard that he hadn’t ‘lost’ his touch._

_Ignoring his need to sleep, Sanzo had spent much of the night doing research on mountains. Why mountains? He wasn’t sure, but something seemed to be calling him. He needed to find something that was a challenge and to find beauty in it. So the idea of going to a desolate mountain plain worked, or so he thought._

_After being up for almost 5 hours looking for information, Sanzo found himself collapsing back against the satin sheets._

\---

Stirring, the man began to wake and quickly realized that he was not in his home, not resting on his silky sheets. In fact, the ground felt almost fluffy. An itchy kind of fluffy though. Annoyed at the feeling of the coarse material, Sanzo breaks through the fog of sleep and it slowly comes back to him. He wasn’t back at home in his small apartment on his silk covered bed, he had been dreaming.

‘Of course I’d dream about that bastard.’ He thought bitterly to himself. It must be due to all the stress he was under. That had to be it.

As his vision began to clear he realized he was now inside some kind of cave. Underneath the blond wasn’t a soft bed but instead what appeared to be layers of white fur or wool, like some kind of crudely made blanket. Nearby he could hear the crackling of what was probably a fire, but he was still too disoriented to comprehend where he was.

Closing his eyes for a moment, the photographer tries to recollect his thoughts and figure out how he got here. He remembered going up the mountain but his memory is fuzzy after that point.

‘What the hell happened after that?’

Slowly pieces of his memory started to come together and his eyes widen. He recalled the frozen lake, but then remembered that there was a beast that was staring down at him from a ledge. Sanzo quickly checked over his body, searching for bites and claw marks but finds nothing. His frown deepened as his expression changed to one of confusion. How did he get inside this cave?

Suddenly he hears a rustling sound and turns to look for the source. Behind him was his backpack, but also something else. Sanzo can see the white furred creature, the same one that sat above him on a ledge, now sifting through his bag. For a moment he holds in a gasp, worried about alerting the beast, until the blond realizes that the ‘monster’ looked a lot smaller than he originally thought. 

Sanzo had guessed the beast to be about the size of an elephant when he encountered him the first time, but it slowly dawned on him that he must have been suffering hallucinations due to the altitude. The creature appeared so much bigger because it had been over his head on a ledge.

Now the man felt a bit flustered at freaking out over such a small thing, and without caring for the consequences he stood up and trudged over to the creature, still going through his bag. He could see it looking at his camera equipment, his very important and very expensive equipment.

Without warning he smacks the creature on the back of the head. 

“Get the hell away from my stuff you little monster!” He hissed out as the creature suddenly jumps back and makes an almost growling sound at him. Sanzo kneeled before his bag but was shocked at what he saw.

As the young man suspected, monsters weren’t real, but he could see why this guy could be mistaken for one by villagers who believed in rumors and old wives’ tales. 

Sanzo was sure what he was looking at was some kind of human, and not a very tall one at that. It was hard to tell at this point if they were male or female. Currently it was a bit hunched over and covered in, what looked like, sheep wool. Its arms were left exposed, filthy look hands that had been touching his equipment. Around its body were layers of tattered clothing and wool that was probably used to protect from the cold elements. He could vaguely see what appeared to be messy brown hair peeking out from under a wooly cap. And of course there was fur along his face as well, rounding the being’s face and covering most of it, except for those piercing golden eyes.

The photographer clutched his bag and glared at the beastly human, as if daring him to try and touch his stuff. “You don’t just go through people’s personal belongings you little thief.” Sanzo filtered through his bag for a moment and taking stock. It looked like everything was all in there, at least the important stuff.

Not wanting to stay in the cave much longer, Sanzo tried to lift the bag up and over his shoulder but found himself feeling incredibly weak. Unable to hold up the bag the man finds himself falling onto his rear, groaning a little. Did this bastard do something to him? Maybe some kind of voodoo magic? He was about to say something when his stomach began to growl and made an annoyed noise at his body's complaining at the lack of food.

When was the last time he ate something? That morning he had some trail mix and bread, but that was it. He hadn’t eaten much when he went on the foot worn trail up the mountain. So now he was paying for it and his body felt weak from lack of food.

Shaking his head Sanzo looked up and noticed the person was now gone, no longer crouched a few feet from him. Slightly panicked the blond whipped his head around to look for the guy, worried it was going to attack him and steal his stuff. When he turns his head to the right the person was literally a foot from him staring with those large, almond shaped eyes.

Sanzo fell backwards a little in his shock, before composing himself and glaring. “What the hell is your problem? Why don’t you-” His words waiver a little when he sees, and smells, some kind of meat being held by the other person. The frown returns as Sanzo wasn’t sure if the ‘beast’ was offering him the food.

“You giving me something to eat?” The photographer asked in an incredulous tone. Violet eyes roamed over the contribution before twitching slightly. The little beast was holding it in his dirty hands and using a leaf as a form of a plate. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

The other person motioned the steak closer to Sanzo as if trying to encourage him to take it. And the blond was starting to want it. The piece of meat looked well cooked and smelled pretty good. Considering he didn’t have any kind of protein for a while the offering was becoming more and more enticing. Sighing, he finally reaches out before stopping his hand short.

“Wait a minute. What kind of meat is this?” He eyes the food with a raised eyebrow now wondering if this guy was some lunatic cannibal and this was a trick to get him to eat human meat.

The boy looks on in confusion, as if wondering why the blond couldn’t tell what kind of meat this was. He points to his crudely made outfit several times, then plucks at the coarse fur. It took him a minute, but when the person pointed at its ‘clothing’ then the meat, Sanzo got it.

“Sheep. Or lamb I guess. That makes sense. I saw you snagging a sheep from that farmer this morning. I guess instead of Man Eater you’re really a Sheep Eater.” That was a little more comforting. Sighing the man finally takes the offering of food and stares at it. There was no plate and no utensils. He would have to eat the meat with his bare hands.

Sanzo frowned but as his stomach complained again he threw his reservations to the wind and bit into the piece of meat, tearing off a portion and chewing thoughtfully. The little beast seemed to watch him curiously, making the photographer feel a bit uncomfortable, and he did his best to ignore him as he tried to decide if the meat was any good. Surprisingly the food tasted pretty good. He expected it to taste bland, but he could taste some seasoning on it. How did this guy manage that? As he looked around the cave he began to realize something.

Along the walls were shelving units, something he didn’t notice before because he had been so out of it. There were various trinkets and books, and even an area that looked like a spice rack. There was also a pit where the fire was to keep it lit. Sanzo also noted that there was some light inside thanks to candles in the cave, but he couldn’t see an exit.

Sanzo realizes he was being quiet too long when the little monster seemed to peer in closer, then looked down at the meat in his hand. Rolling his eyes, the blond takes another bite, chewing slowly as if to show that at least the food was edible to him. This seemed to please the smaller human who sat back down on his rear and continued to watch.

‘I have no idea if this guy even understands me.’ Sanzo was fairly certain the ‘monster’ was male. He couldn’t see the shape of his face but he could see some of the contours of his waist. His hips showed under the mess of wool and fur and he didn’t see the curves that a woman would have. 

Sanzo noticed that the other male was looking fairly sleepy, his eyes looking a bit droopy and in that moment he likened the being to a cat. It offered him food from his prey, had stared at him to make sure he accepted the offering, and now was starting to get sleepy. Snorting, the man finished his meal before moving to grab his bag, causing the other male to stiffen and become more alert.

“Relax, idiot.” Sanzo muttered, rummaging through his bag to find his water bottle. He had two in his bag and, feeling generous, he decided to give one to the beast. He didn’t want to feel like he owed him any favors so the water was his own offering. He popped the cap off one of the bottles and hands it to the other person. Sanzo wondered if the guy would even know what the bottle was as it seemed he was pretty remedial. But, surprisingly, the other guy took it without question and began to drink from it with no problems.

The blond had so many questions running through his head about this guy, like how did such a wild child manage to make a cave look somewhat civilized? He wondered if they were simply stolen treasures, not able to picture the beast being able to read especially considering he had not spoken the entire time.

Sanzo sat there staring at the other male for a while, until the wooly coated human stood up and walked over to the blond. Without warning, the beast grabbed Sanzo’s hand, causing the photographer to snap his wrist away. “What the hell are you doing?”

Golden eyes glared into his, as Sanzo found his hand being snatched up again and he is dragged over to the wooly ‘bed’ he had woken up from before pointing to it. The monster plopped down on the bed and gave the stupidest grin the photographer had ever seen. Now that Sanzo was standing, he could see just how short the other male was and he scoffed a little. This guy wanted him to lay back down on the bed. “Don’t just drag me around like those damn sheep and then tell me what to do, you little freak.”

The brunet looked a bit taken back by the comment, huffing slightly to show his hurt. He was trying to get the man to rest, however Sanzo would have none of that.

“Look, kid, guy, whatever you are, I don’t have time to waste with some guy who smells like a wet goat in a cave. You may have all the time in the world, but I have shit to do.” With that said, Sanzo grabbed up his bag, still feeling a little wobbly, but more steady than he had before the meal. “Thanks for the food, but I’m out of here.”

The young man watched but said nothing, still feeling wounded by what Sanzo had called him. He didn’t budge from his spot as the photographer gathered his things and took off to the exit of the cage.  
“Not a freak.” He mutters softly to himself.

\---

Sanzo found himself in a stupor after he left the brunet behind. He had walked maybe 10 minutes away from the cave when he found himself at the frozen lake again. He was actually inside the mountains that contained what he was looking for. How convenient was that? 

“I guess that brat was good for something.” Sanzo muttered before continuing to walk along the bumpy path towards the frozen lake. It was obvious that not many people came this way, not finding an easy way to get to the lake. He took cautious steps to reach his destination this time, remembering to stay hydrated and take breaks so he wouldn’t pass out again. How embarrassing had that been? Going unconscious in front of some feral punk and then being rescued by that stupid grinning kid? How ridiculous. 

After another 5 minutes Sanzo was nearly 50 feet away from the lake. It was just as remarkable up close and he couldn’t wait to get a picture of it. The photographer grunted as he dropped his heavy bag on the ground knowing he could get around faster without it, but he had too many valuable things inside. Taking his camera out, he adjusted the lens and checked his lightning. It was probably midafternoon from where the sun was currently in the sky. There was barely a cloud in the sky. It was if the gods of photography were smiling upon him. 

That was until the man heard a howl.

Turning his head, he looked up and saw a grey wolf standing near the top of the large canyon, staring at him intently. Its howl echoed through the crater and caused Sanzo to step back. Where would he go though? Luckily the wolf was pretty far away and seemed to lose interest in him. After a minute, it ran back over the edge and out of sight.

Sanzo let out a long sigh of relief. Maybe lady luck wasn’t completely on his side, so he’d have to keep an eye out. Were there bears to look out for too? “Fuck, why didn’t I research the local wild life?” He said to himself before shaking the nagging thoughts away. “Too late to worry about that now.”

The blond couldn’t help the smug grin now on his face. This was it, he was going to get a beautiful shot in such a desolate place. He’d show that bastard Kougaiji that he hadn’t lost his touch. The man knew how to take great pictures, he just needed the right inspiration. Adjusting his lens he stepped onto the ice carefully, testing it. The ice didn’t give way.

Continuing onwards, Sanzo pointed his camera down and began seeking out an interesting spot in the lake. Would the fish be frozen too? That would make for an intriguing image for sure. As he went further onto the lake he noticed some water along the surface that rippled as his shoes sloshed across it. Frowning, Sanzo didn’t want the water to ruin the clarity of the lake, so he began to step back.

“Stop!”

The man paused, turning to where he heard the voice and to his surprise he saw the wild child again. The young man stood on the edge of the lake, pointing at the sky, then pointing at the lake.

“What?”

“The sun!”

Sanzo raised his eyebrow, unsure what the young man meant by that as he began to take another step closer to the boy. “Can you chill out for 5 minutes so I can take a picture?” Annoyed now, he continues to walk over to the boy, his footsteps a bit heavy now but for some reason he was itching to smack the brunette in the head. 

“No! Stop! The sun! The ice!” The boy’s face, from what little Sanzo could see, looked a little pale. But Sanzo wasn’t concerned about that as he continued forward. A thought occurred to him as he treaded over.

“You little brat. Why didn’t you speak ear-” There was a loud cracking sound that made Sanzo pause and in that second he began to understand the shorter male’s words. ‘Sun’, ‘Ice’. It was midafternoon which mean the sun had been blaring down on the ice for hours hadn’t it? “…Shit.”

When the realization hit Sanzo the man stiffened before slowly turning and looking over his shoulder. He knew the crack was going to be there, but he didn’t realize how big it would be. Growing worried, he turns to look back over at the shorter male who was holding out his hands as if in ‘stop’ motion. 

The burnet, whose head was currently uncovered by the wool cap, seemed to be trying to assess the situation, looking behind Sanzo where the ice was splitting. The messy haired youth makes another gesture, a slow hand motion telling Sanzo to come forward. “Slow.”

Sanzo knew he would have to trust this guy if he wanted to get out of this without falling through the ice. Despite his confidence earlier, suddenly his foot felt like it weighed a ton. Each step was terrifying as the cracks continued to web around his feet. He badly wanted to just run to safety but obviously that was a bad idea. Sanzo continued on, each second agonizingly slow as his heart pounded in his chest. The younger man across the lake looked hopeful, giving him an encouraging smile and for a moment, as he was only a few feet away from shore, Sanzo felt relieved.

So focused on his steps, Sanzo gasped and straightened too quickly when he heard a howl ringing through the valley, the wolf nearby again. The motion caused him to jerk backwards, causing him to lose his hold on his camera which fell on the ice and slid away. By reflex, the photographer moved forward but all this motion caused the ice underneath him to crack, no longer able to support the blonde’s weight, and he fell through the ice. 

‘Well, this is a shitty way to die,' were Sanzo’s thoughts as he found himself going under water. All he wanted was to take a photograph and show up Kougaiji for saying he lost his touch. Was it prideful? Yes, but that wasn’t the point. 

Sanzo had something to prove, but was it something he would have wanted to die for?

No it wasn’t.

And yet there he was furiously kicking at the water and trying to get above the ice, but finding himself just running his face into the sheet of frozen liquid. He was losing oxygen fast, and it was freezing cold. Sanzo felt heavy, body starting to go numb. He began punching, as well as one could under water, at the ice but only hurting his wrists by doing that. His eyes start to blur, though he swore he faintly saw an outline of a figure above him.

Was the kid there to watch him die? Maybe he should have been a little nicer, but that wasn’t his style. Really, why did it have to end this way? The man questioned his choices and how he ended up like this. On top of that, he wasn’t even able to get a good picture. That may have been the thing that pissed off Sanzo the most as he began to succumb to darkness.

\---

When Sanzo opened his eyes again, it was to the blurry image of a cave ceiling. Again. 

However, this time something was different, there was something warming him that wasn’t itchy or furry, and almost familiar in a way. Groaning, he goes to move a hand up to rub at his temple but finds something heavy was holding it down. Frowning, he blinks and looks down to see a mess of brown hair on his chest, causing the man to redden slightly.

Was this the kid laying on him? ‘What the hell is going on….?’ His eyes widen as he recalls what had happened last time he was awake. There was ice, and falling, and swimming, and suffocating. So much suffocating. Sanzo’s laid there as he slowly begins to piece everything together.

He had been drowning and this kid must have saved him. Saved him again, that is.

But why was he sleeping on Sanzo now?

‘Wait a minute…’

Sanzo grunted as he slowly pulled himself up on his elbows, looking down at the wild child. His messy brown hair was long, draped over a wool blanket that was covering the both of them. Neither he nor Sanzo were wet, which meant they must have been drying for a while. Looking to his left was the fire burning in the pit which gave the photographer just enough light to see around him.

The blond tried to get up, but the kid practically felt like dead weight. “Come on, brat. Get off me.” Sanzo grunted, pushing the boy off to the side as the brunet rolled off, the blanket falling off him. The motion caused him to wake up and he sat up quickly as if in defense mode, looking around wildly before his eyes fall on Sanzo, who was currently even redder in the cheeks now.

Sitting before Sanzo was the wild child, now fully naked. Gone was the overly wooly, crudely made coat, and what was left was a tanned, well-toned young man with unruly long hair that draped over his shoulders. The burnet’s nails were long, almost like claws in a way. His face was a bit rounder though, and he had wide, almond shaped eyes with those alluring golden irises. The teen’s physique almost reminded Sanzo of a younger, leaner version of Kougaiji.

‘No, more attractive than that.’ The blond quickly shook his head of those thoughts. Like he really needed another Kougaiji to piss him off. Realizing he was staring, Sanzo quickly turned to look down at his chest before he realized he was also naked. He quickly covered himself by crossing his legs and moving his arms over his waist area. He shoots a glance at the young man who seemed to have no problem relaxing naked on the cave floor.

“Uh, why don’t you put some pants on?”

“They are wet. Yours are wet.”

Sanzo looked up at the young man, shocked for a moment, then remembering that the young brunet had spoken before on the lake. “Right. You can speak.” The man furrowed his eyebrows. “So why the hell didn’t you talk to me earlier, kid?”

The young man shrugged. “You never asked. And not a kid.” His voice softened a little and the curious youth now carried a hurt expression. “Or a monster. Or a freak.”

When Sanzo had called the young man those words, he didn’t think he understood them. He was angry and it was in the heat of the moment. Shaking his head, he relaxes a little. It seemed like nothing was going to happen, the wild child harmless. If he had wanted to do anything he would have done so when the photographer was unconscious. Instead he saved him from drowning.

“Sorry, sorry. Kind of hard calling someone their name if they don’t know it, kid.”

“I have a name! Not kid!”

The older male was slightly amused at the way the brunet was acting. His speech wasn’t terrible, his sentences disjointed but at least Sanzo could understand that slightly husky voice. It also didn’t sound like English was his first language as his sentences were spoken roughly. He said he wasn’t a kid, but he kind of acted like one. “Right, calm down then. I won’t call you kid anymore. So, what do you want to be called? Do you even have a name?”

“I do! Seiten Taisei Son Goku”

“Good lord, that’s a long name. Who the hell gives their kid a name that long? I’m just calling you Seiten.”

“My name… _Abuela_ gave it to me!”

“And I’m calling you by the first part of your name. I’m not going to bother with remembering a long ass name of a guy I’m not going to know for very long.” Sanzo muttered and thinking that was the end of the argument, but he looked up to see the boy looking down trodden at the ground. Rolling his eyes at the pouty display, the blond decides to humor the kid. “Why did your grandmother… I mean, _Abuela_... name you that? Does it have a meaning?” 

The young man instantly seemed to perk up at Sanzo’s interest.

“ _Abuela_ was very smart. Read lotta books and taught me words! Read books to me. Like the Monkey king. She said I was brave ‘n strong like him!”

Sanzo vaguely knew of that story. Kougaiji told him about it one night after explaining he had to be at a play about it that his little sister was starring in. He also knew the main character Wukong, also called Seiten Taisei, was known to be a little prankster. “Maybe she thought you were a little trouble maker.” Remarked the blond with a raised eyebrow.

“No. She said I was brave and strong. That’s why _Abuela_ took me and lived here with me.” He pat down the ground next to him, indicating he meant the cave. “The mean people called _Abuela_ a witch ‘cause she smart. Scared her away. They call me a monster ‘cause of my eyes.” Seiten glanced up at Sanzo for a moment, before his voice softened. “Not a monster.”

It seemed those words had truly hurt him. Sanzo wasn’t sure what the full story was, but he got enough information about it. If the townspeople thought he was a beast, it made sense why he would live in the mountains. Really, he was just a kid living his life in the wilderness. Maybe he was ridiculously strong, but he also seemed fairly harmless. Almost affectionate in a way considering he was laying on him earlier, probably to giving him body warmth.

“You’re not a monster.” Sanzo finally replies. “You just freaked me out at first. I mean, your outfit made you look like some kind of beast.” The blond motions towards the coarse wool blanket.

“Oh.” The young man replied with a dumbfounded expression, looking over at the wool blanket, before grabbing at it and covering himself. “Warm.”

‘Thank god.’ Sanzo was happy that the kid finally covered himself up, feeling confused as to why he found himself attracted to this feral young man. Without the wool covering him, Seiten really was quite appealing to look at. There was an air of innocence around him that Sanzo found to be alluring. It had been a long time since he met someone who seemed so pure and honest. Kougaiji was attractive, however he was anything but innocent.

“So, where is your _Abuela_?”

“Died. Long time ago.” The young man looked a bit sad as he said that, frowning, but shaking his head. “Been alone long time.”

“How old are you?” Sanzo asked curiously, now wanting to know more about this young man. The feral child now intrigued Sanzo and, since he was stuck in the mountains anyway, it didn’t hurt to have someone to talk to, even if his company had terrible motor skills.

It was a nice change, having someone to talk with. Kougaiji wasn’t big on talking, unless it was about business. 

The boy looked thoughtful for a moment at Sanzo’s question, as if thinking how to answer that. “Uh…” He starts counting on his fingers, before grinning and looking up at the blond. “Nineteen summers!” 

‘So not jail bait- no. Bad, Sanzo. Bad thoughts.’ Sanzo wished these intrusive thoughts would go away. No way was he going to be attracted to some dirty teenager. And yet he found he was. Living in New York, the photographer had an eye for attractive people and enjoyed taking their photo. He could find beauty in almost anyone using his lens, and given a good bath, this kid could be gorgeous. He was sure of it.

“Hm, so you’re old enough to know not to freak out people by spying on them from the ledge of a cliff.” The man remarks with an annoyed look. “Why were you following me anyway?”

Seiten shrugged. “You were interesting, shiny. Not like the people in town. Smell nice too.”

“First time someone’s said I smelled nice…” The blond mutter, feeling slightly embarrassed.

“No one comes up here, they all stay in town. Gets lonely.” The young man clutches his blanket a little, his eyes looking sadly towards the taller man. “People in town are mean, so I don’t go down there. I just stay here. Alone.”

The man felt a bit sorry for the teen. It was obvious that he had been ostracized from the townspeople who seemed to have a thing against his golden eyes. Sanzo had a few people comment on his own purple irises in the past, but they never said anything mean about them. Suddenly a thought occurs to him.

“If you had the chance, would you leave this place? Go somewhere else?”

Seiten straightened and looked curiously at the blond. “Um, I do not know. Maybe. But I have nowhere to go. Never been anywhere but here.” He looked around his cave like house, feeling sad. Would he really leave the home his _Abuela_ made for them? His safe haven? “I don’t know…” He repeats.

“Hmm.” Sanzo figured the kid would want to stay. If someone randomly asked him if he wanted to leave New York, he would say no, unless it was for an amazing job opportunity. Sanzo like familiarity. “So,” he tries to change the subject. “Any chance I can try to get a picture on that lake without risking possible death by drowning in frozen water?”

“Oh? The lake?” The brunet nodded. “Not safe durin’ the day ‘cause the sun makes the ice all melty. But at night and in the mornin’ it’s safer. Ice is thick. But there’s a crack in it now. Gotta wait for it to fix.”

‘Well that sucks.’ Sanzo thought bitterly. If he had been out cold for a while he figured it would be night time and he could head back to the lake, but the kid was probably right. Sanzo had no idea how long it would take for the cracks to fill and freeze over, but he also wanted to make sure there were no imperfections in the lake. He had time, he could wait. It was only the second day anyway.

\---

Sanzo had stayed in the cave for the evening, spending a couple hours speaking to the mysterious feral youth. Despite the language barrier they seemed to be able to hold a decent conversation. Sanzo never had to talk so much to one person before, but Seiten was fascinated by him and the world of ‘New York.’

They spent hours looking over Sanzo’s pictures in his digital camera until the battery died. Luckily he had his back up battery and stated he would not be using his camera until he needed it.

Looking at his pictures, Sanzo realized what Kougaiji had been talking about. His work had become more muted, symmetrical. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but it was missing the same vibrancy that his older nature photography had. In fact, after looking through his last 100 photos, only a handful had any kind of natural element to it and those were the ones he was drawn to. The blond would never admit that Kougaiji was right because there was nothing wrong with mixing up your subject matter, but some of his shots had become predictable and repetitive.

The blond was even able to convince the wild child to bathe during the time they spent together. As he had suspected, the young man was gorgeous when he was cleaned up. His skin was a nice, healthy tanned color, his hair was softer once it had been thoroughly washed and looked shinier than before. Sanzo had been able to watch the young man lather himself up and clean himself in a nearby lake that hadn’t been frozen over. Of course the photographer had to stay there and monitor Seiten’s progress, making sure the boy properly cleaned himself and didn’t miss a single inch of his body. He may have snapped a photo or two.

A couple days passed and it was the night of the full moon. Sanzo refused to wait any longer, however he did wait until very early in the morning to take the picture as the lake would be completely frozen over by then. The moon would be on the horizon, a shot the man had been plotting and looking forward to. 

During the day time Seiten escorted the man to the lake as the plotted out the best spot for Sanzo’s photo. He pointed out where the stars would be and locations where shadows wouldn’t interfere with the shot. The brunet stated he would be accompanying the man as he was concerned about wolves coming after him, and Sanzo graciously accepted the offer. The last thing he needed was another brush with death.

Sanzo could feel anxiety in the pit of his stomach as they stood on the edge of the frozen lake, a feeling he wasn’t used to. Never before did a shot mean so much to him, especially considering he’d only have tonight to take the photos. The moon wouldn’t glow as brightly as it would tonight. He had heard in town that they expected rain the next evening. 

It was now or in a month on the next full moon. The photographer had no plans to stay that long.

Standing in a pile of snow on the frigid night, Sanzo looked over at Seiten who was in his tattered clothing, the wooly jacket not being worn at this time. 

“Aren’t you cold?”

“Little bit, but hard to move around with the jacket.” The younger male stated bluntly, his expression alert as he looked around. No wolves, which was a good sign. 

The next hour went on slowly for Seiten who kept watch over Sanzo as he proceeded to take pictures at different times and spots, wanting to catch the lightning of the moon at just the right time. The man was fully focused on his task snapping pictures every few seconds and watching the clouds to make sure the moon wasn’t covered. The lake was beautiful under this light and seemed to glow. Some areas had a slight mist forming which gave an ominous but hauntingly beautiful look.

After snapping about 70 pictures, Sanzo turns off the camera to conserve the battery as he turns to a fidgety Seiten. “What’s the matter with you?”

“I’m bored. You done?”

Sanzo snorted at the young man’s behavior, remembering that he stated he was not a kid, but he sure did act like one sometimes. It was kind of cute in a way. “Yeah, I’m done. Might take one more before sunset, but I need to let the camera take a break and save the battery.”

“Can I play then?” Seiten requested, a hopeful look on his face.

“Play? There’s nothing to do out here.”

“There is!” The wild child grinned and raced past Sanzo and onto the lake, laughing as he slid along the frozen ice in his wooly shoes. Sanzo rolled his eyes at the display but let the young man do what he wanted. There was just something intriguing about this boy’s free spirit. It was almost infectious when Seiten smiled, Sanzo feeling calmness in his heart. He wasn’t used to this feeling but he didn’t dislike it.

He watched the feral youth dance across the lake, his heart pounding in excitement. This was the energy the photographer had been craving. This dirty, uneducated child was a beacon of purity and Sanzo wanted to capture that. Pulling out his camera, he turns it back on and begins to rapidly snap more pictures, thinking Seiten was oblivious.

But he wasn’t. He watched Sanzo with curious eyes before realizing he was now the older man’s subject matter. He didn’t seem to mind, continuing to skate along the lake and laughing in a carefree way as his long hair flowed behind him. Sanzo’s heart beat faster as he couldn’t keep his lens off this gorgeous boy as the sun began to rise. 

It felt a little cliché to take a picture of someone dancing in front of a sunset, but at the same time the location was unique so Sanzo didn’t mind. The way the sun shone on the young man’s skin made it seem like he was glowing. He snapped a few more pictures before finally turning off the camera, feeling he got a good shot in. 

Seiten, realizing Sanzo was now done snapping photos, skated over to the man with a big grin on his face. “So… did you get any good shots?” 

“I think so.” Sanzo replied simply as he began putting his camera away in his back pack. He was beginning to feel pretty tired and he just wanted to rest, but a part of him was still feeling pretty invigorated after watching Seiten dancing on the lake. A part that he hoped wasn’t showing. “I was especially pleased with some of the last few photos I took. The subject matter was interesting. I was admiring the view.” He looked up at Seiten through his eyelashes, wondering if the younger male understood Sanzo’s advances. 

The young man seemed to be blushing and looked ready to say something when his head suddenly snaps up, eyes now focused on something behind Sanzo. Feeling dread, the man slowly turned his head to see what was behind him. The minute they let their guard down a hungry wolf managed to sneak over to them with the photographer in its sights.

‘I’m getting real tired of being put in danger nearly every day.’ Sanzo thought to himself, ducking down as the wolf lunged at him. Expecting teeth and claws he braced for impact, but instead heard the wolf yelp and looked up just in time to see a blur shove the beast away before Seiten was looming over Sanzo, his long nails out and now bloody. The blond looked up at the wolf to see it was now sporting a slash mark along its throat. Damn that kid had tough nails. 

“Mine!” The young man suddenly hollers out at the wolf, surprising not only the canine but Sanzo as well. The older man looked up at his savior and blinks in confusion. “Won’t let you hurt him! Go!”

The animal probably had no idea what Seiten was saying, but his posture made it pretty clear that he was protecting the human. The grey wolf circled around them a few times but Seiten’s gaze never wavered, constantly staring with an intense expression. Knowing this wasn’t something it wanted to take on alone, the canine growls but falls back. Without its pack it would be too risky to take on such a fierce opponent.

Seiten remained crouched over the fallen man for a few moments, glaring at the retreating wolf. Sanzo could do nothing but stare at this young man who had just claimed the blond. That’s what he heard anyway. The feral young man had clearly said ‘Mine’. Sanzo wasn’t sure why the intrusive thoughts entered his head again, maybe it was because of the heat of the moment, but he found himself completely infatuated with this so called Man-eater.

“Yours, huh?”

Seiten felt his cheeks turn a bit red at Sanzo’s comment, not realizing what he had said out loud. But he wouldn’t deny it. Looking down at the photographer, the brunet lowered himself so they could easily look eye to eye. “Mine.” He repeats. “I want you to be mine.”

“I’m not a toy, Seiten.” Sanzo raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean when you say mine?”

“I know! You are not a toy. But you are mine. I want to…” The teen pauses, trying to figure out what he wanted to say. “I want to be with you. Together, us.” He points between the two of them. “Sanzo takes away the lonely feelings.”

‘So simple.’ The man thinks but has a bit of a smirk on his face. “I guess I could say the same. You were a pain in the ass in the beginning, but I’ve been anything but lonely since I got here. But I’m also very demanding. So you better think about that before you claim that you want me.”

“Mine.” The boy repeats firmly, nodding his head. “You asked if I would leave here. I would but only for you. I like you.”

And that was it. Sanzo had never been with someone who was as dedicated as this young man and now it had become a craving. He had been fighting his emotions, as well as his libido, for days. But Seiten had thrown the doors open and Sanzo wasn’t going to miss this chance.

“I think we should head back to the cave.” The man replies as he stands up and grips his bag. He had gotten better at carrying the heavy bag over the last few days but he also left some supplies back at the feral teen’s home. “There’s something I want to talk with you about.”

Seiten blinked at Sanzo’s abruptness as he stood up to leave, but he was smiling so maybe the blond wanting to talk about something good? Quickly getting up, the younger man follows behind Sanzo as they headed back to the cave. Thankfully for Sanzo, the walk didn’t take long, but Seiten was fairly quiet. He wasn’t a chatterbox or anything like that, but he did enjoy conversations when they walked. 

Once the two got to the cave, the photographer began to settle in as he put his bag near the wooly bed his companion had made for him. He had gotten used to the coarse fur and didn’t mind laying on it now. Better than a stone floor. As he got settled, he plopped down on the blanket and motioned for Seiten to come with him.

“You’ve been awfully quiet.”

“You said nothing. I said I liked you.” The young man walked over to Sanzo and complied by sitting down next to him, but he seems almost nervous. “Want you to like me too. Wanna to be yours.”

“Oh, is that what you’re worried about?” Sanzo suddenly moves his hand underneath the brunet’s chin, gripping his face so he was turned to look at those lusting violet eyes. Without warning the older man presses his lips against Seiten’s and by no means was it a simple peck. The man commanded over those lips in a passionate kiss that lasted for a few moments. The young man had been caught by surprise by the act but was in no way trying to stop Sanzo, in fact it sounded like he was purring. 

Sanzo pulled back to take a moment to examine the younger man’s expression, to see if he had also enjoyed the kiss. He shouldn’t have been worried because there was a goofy grin on the teen’s face and pink lining along his cheeks. “You don’t have to be worried. I want to make you mine.” Sanzo finally says.

The brunet quickly moved forward, returning the kiss with one of his own, and Sanzo knew that his feelings had been accepted. Seiten wanted Sanzo just as much as he wanted this wild teen. The younger male was a bit forceful as well, holding Sanzo’s hair in his hands as he tugged slightly during the kiss, causing the blond to groan.

“Demanding little thing, aren’t you?”

“Been alone for years. I have needs too.” Seiten replies bluntly before pulling back and sitting on the bed. With the way the young man was sitting, Sanzo could see that the teen’s body was reacting to the intimate contact if the bulge on his pants meant anything.

“I can see that.” Sanzo crouched forward, kissing Seiten along his jawline and moving a hand forward to gently press his fingers along the young man’s crotch. Seiten shivered and withdrew slightly, but then relaxed and leaned back in for more kisses. “Stop me if you don’t want this.” The blond replied. “Once I get going it’s hard for me to quit.”

“No, it’s…” The boy’s heart fluttered. He never had such intimate contact before and he was little overwhelmed. But at the same time he really wanted it. “I want you to touch me. I’m just… I don’t know how to describe it?”

“I believe the word is horny.” Sanzo chuckled a little, resuming what he was doing. “I want to touch you as well. Pretty much the last few days have been torture for me, not touching this gorgeous body.” He moved his hand away from Goku’s crotch for now and proceeded to rub his hand along his chest, grazing his thumb over his nipple.

“R…really?” Seiten gasped out at the contact, squirming a little. “I… I wanted to touch you too.” Sanzo had made the brunet blush even further at being called gorgeous. If anything it was Sanzo who was the amazing one. His sexy eyes, his luxurious hair, his well-toned body. And Seiten hadn’t missed his cock when they sat naked together the other day. He had said Sanzo smelled good and he now wondered if the blond also tasted good.

His thoughts were interrupted as he finds his shirt being pulled over his head, Sanzo taking the lead again. “You’re distracted?”

“No, just…admiring the view.”

Sanzo snorted at the comment, the boy stealing the line he had used earlier after their photo session. “I see. Well I’m also enjoying what I see. But there seems to be a problem with my view…” He hooked a finger around Seiten’s torn pants, before moving a hand down into them and grazing his hand over the warm cock that was taking interest in the younger man’s pants. “I can’t quite see what I’m looking for.”

Sanzo’s hand moved along the throbbing member as Seiten let out a small noise, his toes clutching at the wooly sheet under them. The man was teasing him and Seiten knew that. Without waiting, Seiten was quick to begin removing his pants, kicking the torn article of clothing to the side, before he suddenly moves forward to his companion.

“You too. Naked.” The boy demanding, not realizing he was rubbing his knee against Sanzo’s arousal as the blond hissed and found himself shuddering. The boy managed to get Sanzo’s shirt off before he found his wrists in the blond’s grasp. “What? I want to see all of you too.”

“I know, you just got me even more heated.” Sanzo pushed down Seiten so he was now laying on his back, letting go of one of his wrists to rub a hand along the brunette’s toned stomach. “Let me just explore for a moment.” Like a true photographer, Sanzo liked to take in the scenery. His fingers roamed along the younger man’s body and lightly moved over his inner thighs. Seiten shivered and Sanzo knew he found a weak spot.

His hand snaked around to his backside, pressing his fingers along his lower back, them exploring the contours of his ass. The boy continued to whine, his member starting to rise as Sanzo continued to navigate his hand along his skin.

“You’re… teasing!”

Sanzo chuckled but said nothing, not denying the response. Moves down and nips along Seiten’s jawline, then presses his lips against the boy’s again, keeping his hand around those brown locks to make sure the boy couldn’t move too much. “Tell me what you want then, Seiten?”

Gasping a little after the kiss, the younger male was getting more and more heated. He had felt arousal before, what teenager hadn’t. But he had never been intimate with someone and so far he really enjoyed it, even if Sanzo was going too slow. “I want to be yours.”

Sanzo couldn’t help his libido any longer and gave into to his carnal needs, pressing a hand onto Seiten’s stomach to keep him flat. He looked over the young man, frowning when he realized he didn’t have any kind of lube so he opted for the next best thing, licking his palm to slick it up. It wasn’t dignified but the last thing he wanted to do was rub the boy raw.

Slowly, not wanting to go too fast, Sanzo began to stroke the teen’s member. He enjoyed the little whines and whimpers that the young man made as he made sure to lean over every now and then and nip at the boy’s delicate throat. Sanzo liked leaving marks on his lovers, showing they belonged to him. Kougaiji would never let the photographer bite him along the neck, so it was exhilarating to be able to mark the brunet this way.

Seiten writhed under him, his nails digging into the blanket and tearing into the crude fabric as his moans echoed through the cave. He was in bliss, never before had someone touched him in such an intimate way and he reveled in the feeling. The lower part of his body felt like it was on fire, tingling as Sanzo continued to stroke him harder and faster.

“You look even more gorgeous.” Sanzo remarked, kissing the boy’s lips as the younger man just moaned against him. Sanzo’s own erection was starting to feel left out, but the blond could take care of that in a minute. He couldn’t keep his eyes off this boy’s body as it shuddered in ecstasy.

As expected of a first timer, it wasn’t long before Seiten found his release, his body arching upwards as his fluids escaped from his cock. Letting out a loud cry, the brunet went limp against the bedding, gasping a little from the heat of the moment. It was as if his body was floating and he felt so good. Every inch of him tingly. He felt especially sensitive along his skin, the fur rubbing against his arms and his thighs. Sanzo slowed his stroking down, smiling at the teen and then moving his free hand over to Seiten’s hair, brushing the wet strands from his face.

“You okay, kid?”

“Not… a kid…” Seiten huffed out, eyes closed as he tried to compose himself. He could feel something brushing along his body and when he opened his eyes, the young man could see Sanzo gently wiping him down with a part of the blanket. He appreciated the gesture, not used to the sticky feeling. “What…what was that?” He asked, now able to breathe properly.

“That,” Sanzo replied as he made sure Seiten was cleaned off. “Was a hand job.”

“Oh. I like it.” Seiten sat up suddenly, a mischievous grin on his face. “Now I wanna claim you.” Before Sanzo has a chance to realize what is happening, the short male was already diving for his pants, pulling down the fabric to reveal Sanzo’s erection. “I wanna taste. I bet Sanzo tastes good.”

“What are-” The man gasps when Seiten nips almost playfully at his inner thigh, his turn now to grip the blanket underneath him. “You… recharge fast.” He mutters, but Sanzo doesn’t complain. His cock had been aching for days and now he had this sexy young man’s mouth giving his member much needed attention.

“God, yes.” He moaned out, gripping the young man’s hair in his hand a bit roughly.

Seiten enjoyed the praise and hearing Sanzo make such beautiful little moans with that deep, sensual voice of his. He could get addicted to this. He made sure every inch of Sanzo’s cock was pleased, licking and sucking on the pulsing erection. 

For someone who was inexperienced, Seiten was quite good at giving a blow job. His tongue moved around his throbbing erection and he began to suck in a slow rhythm. Every now and then the brunet would cup his balls, causing the man to shudder and hiss from pleasure. Seiten knew Sanzo was getting closer to his release as the hand in his hair began to tighten.

“Shit, I’m going to…” Sanzo tried to warn the young man what was about to happen but all that comes out is a moan. His body bucks a little, pushing his member deeper into Seiten’s mouth before he finds his release, his finger gripping his hair harshly. After a tense few seconds, he lets go and falls back against the wooly sheet. Now it was Sanzo who was gasping out from ecstasy, his vision swimming from pleasure as he reveled in moment. He never recalled feeling this good from just a blow job before. 

He was definitely keeping this wild child.

He could feel something move to lay on top of him and his vision clears, seeing that fuzzy brown hair again. Seiten curled up on the man, a big smile on his face.

“I knew you’d taste good.”

Sanzo couldn’t help but laugh at the comment, shaking his head. “Whatever you say.” He laid there for a few moments, moving an arm around Seiten to play with that long, gorgeous hair of his. After a few minutes of resting Sanzo finally decided it was time. They both obviously had feelings for each other and they just gave each other pleasure. The blond could feel a connection between them.

“Seiten.”

The boy looked up from his curled up position on Sanzo’s body, a curious expression on his face. “Yes?”

“Leave this place. Come with me to New York.”

Seiten was quiet for a few moments. He had stated he would leave to be with Sanzo, but to New York? The older man had told him how crazy his home could be. It was a little scary. He would be leaving behind everything. All he owned was in that cave, his books, and his treasures. 

But there was one thing he could never leave behind, his memories. The memory of his _Abuela_ would always be inside him and how she took care of him when he was orphaned by his family. He would never forget the trials he went through living alone in the cave. He had found Sanzo, a man who was like the sun in his once dark, lonely life, and already experienced so many wonderful things. 

Smiling softly, Seiten moved a hand to grasp Sanzo’s, nodding. “I want to go with you. I will go anywhere with you.”

Sanzo could feel relief since he had concerns that the wild child actually would say no. It was a lot to ask of a person to drop everything and leave their home just like that, for just one person. But Seiten agreed and even went so far to say he would go anywhere. The blond was touched by the words as he moved a hand up to gently rub at Seiten’s head being careful of the spots he had yanked on earlier.

“Good. We’ll have to wait a few days for the plane, but that gives me time to get some more pictures of my new favorite subject matter.”

Seiten sat up a little bit, tilting his head. “The lake?”

“No, stupid. I was talking about you.” He sighed, shaking his head. “Didn’t you realize I was flirting with you earlier?”

“Uh. Yes. I think so. What’s flirting?”

Sanzo stared at the boy before sighing and rolling his eyes. This kid was attractive, but there was a lot that the blond was going to have to teach him. Thankfully New York was full of crazy people so he wouldn’t stick out.

“First thing I’m doing when we get home is buying you DVDs to teach you proper English. Second, nail clippers for those long ass claws of yours.”


End file.
